EsPN on our matchup

[CTWarrior]

Bilas says we'll handle Kentucky and our game with Stanford should be a great one pitting the athleticism of our guards against the interior defense of Stanford.

Digger and Vitale say we lose to Kentucky.  They're playing too well right now.

[Daniel]

good for us that Bilas is the only one who knows what he's talking about

[ChicosBailBonds]

Bilas says we'll handle Kentucky and our game with Stanford should be a great one pitting the athleticism of our guards against the interior defense of Stanford.

Digger and Vitale say we lose to Kentucky.  They're playing too well right now.

That's up for debate.  They seem to play down to their level of competition.  Struggled mightily to beat a bad LSU team, lost to Georgia yesterday, etc.

They're also good enough to beat Tennessee.  Sounds a lot like MU, can beat anyone but could lose as well.

[Mayor McCheese]

they lost by 41 to Vandy.... FORTY F'N ONE POINTS

[77ncaachamps]

Thank God, Patterson is out. It would be a lot tougher for us, but it's still going to be a challenge.

It looks like the billing's going to be: "The Three Amigos Meets the Crawford & Bradley Show."

[Pakuni]

Digger and Vitale say we lose to Kentucky.  They're playing too well right now.

UK's last 10: 7-3, with no wins over ranked opponents, two on road or neutral site
MU's last 10: 7-3, with two wins over ranked opponents, five on road/neutral site

Hmmmm.  

MU could lose this game, but I fear this first-round matchup much, much less than the previous two tourneys'.

[79Warrior]

Bilas says we'll handle Kentucky and our game with Stanford should be a great one pitting the athleticism of our guards against the interior defense of Stanford.

Digger and Vitale say we lose to Kentucky.  They're playing too well right now.

That's up for debate.  They seem to play down to their level of competition.  Struggled mightily to beat a bad LSU team, lost to Georgia yesterday, etc.

They're also good enough to beat Tennessee.  Sounds a lot like MU, can beat anyone but could lose as well.

Kentucky is totally beatable, of course I thought we would beat alabama in San Diego two years ago.

Stanford, well that is exactly the matchup we dont want. The Lopez brothers will present some real problems.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The more I look at that MU team 2 years ago, it was a special year led by a special shooter in Novak.  We are much better balanced and mature now then that team.  We don't have the scorer like Novak now, but we have 4 or 5 guys that can do it.

I like our chances on Thursday.  I'm reconsidering, probably going to go now with my UCLA friends.

[NavinRJohnson]

I actually like the UK match up as well as the potential Stanford match up for the opportunity they provide. As much as I would just like to win, I think this year frankly provides an opportunity to demonstrate just how good we are. I think most of us believe we're pretty good, and if we're right, we should beat UK. It's that simple. If we come out and play our game for 40 minutes, we should win. If we don't, I won't be disappointed that we lost, or are out of the tournament, I'll be disappointed because we simply weren't that good.

I would say the same goes for Stanford if we get to that point. They would seemingly be a tougher opponent, and the chance of victory would not be as good, but there is no reason we should not be able to play with them.

All year long we have beaten the teams we should beat, and I think our draw provides a great opportunity to demonstrate just how good we are(n't).

[muwarrior87]

Digger and Vitale say we lose to Kentucky.  They're playing too well right now.

UK's last 10: 7-3, with no wins over ranked opponents, two on road or neutral site
MU's last 10: 7-3, with two wins over ranked opponents, five on road/neutral site

Hmmmm. 

MU could lose this game, but I fear this first-round matchup much, much less than the previous two tourneys'.

win over ND in BET doesn't count??

[Pakuni]

Digger and Vitale say we lose to Kentucky.  They're playing too well right now.

UK's last 10: 7-3, with no wins over ranked opponents, two on road or neutral site
MU's last 10: 7-3, with two wins over ranked opponents, five on road/neutral site

Hmmmm. 

MU could lose this game, but I fear this first-round matchup much, much less than the previous two tourneys'.

win over ND in BET doesn't count??

I counted it.
Seven wins: ND, Seton Hall, FGC, Nova, Rutgers, St. John's, Pitt
Three losses: Pitt, Syracuse, G'town

[muwarrior87]

oops, guess i forgot what MU and UK look like , had the teams switched. my bad

[HelixAir6]

From Bilas' insider column on the Bracket Breakdown and Grades he calls this the "Tough as Nails game" with us coming out on top:

Tough as nails game: When Kentucky plays Marquette, it will match up two of the mentally toughest teams in the field. Marquette is the better team, but Kentucky has been through the fire and is battle tested. In fact, I'm not sure the Wildcats would know what to do if the game was not a close one. Kentucky has been playing single-elimination ball for about two months now, and no team has been challenged more on the court and off. You have to admire the fight shown by Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford in knuckling under and fighting to the finish. I thought Kentucky was dead and buried in January, and I am sure I was not alone. To make the field without having won a single nonconference game against a team ranked in the RPI top 200 is testament to the Cats' performance in SEC play. Billy Gillispie and his team have shown tremendous heart and toughness. That said, the heart and toughness of the Cats will be matched by Marquette, one of the toughest teams mentally that you will find. Marquette will be prepared for a fight, and it will certainly be one. If you like tough teams, watch this game.

[Sweenz]

Funny how Bilas is talking up this game AND he is announcing it... not that this is a conflict of interest, but don't you think could say "If you like tough teams, watch this game" to about any two teams and find a way to justify it.

I like Bilas but find it funny he is using his column to talk about of the 32 games this week, one of them that he just so happens to be doing.

[Pakuni]

To make the field without having won a single nonconference game against a team ranked in the RPI top 200 is testament to the Cats' performance in SEC play.

Or it could be a testament to how soft the SEC was this year.
Florida was down, Bama was down, LSU was down, Georgia - miraculous run notwithstanding - was down.

[NavinRJohnson]

Georgia - miraculous run notwithstanding - was down.

The same Georgia team, with a losing record, that beat UK just 3 days ago, under impossible circumstances. Answer me this one...if UK is so tough mentally, considering they were supposedly playing single elimination ball, how on earth did they get beat by Georgia in the SEC tournamnet, when they are obviously the better team? Seems to me they didn't handle that situation well at all.

[UK CAT]

The SEC still had the number 1 team in the country and another one ranked in the top 15.

But you're right, the SEC wasn't as strong this season as it has been in previous seasons. A lot of teams have been surging of late though. The SEC got 6 teams into the NCAA tourney, granted one of them only got there by winning the SEC tourney, but even then Georgia has had a resurgence of late. Arky is playing well and so is Mississippi State. I don't know what happened to Florida but I think it might have had something to do with the high sugar diet of cupcakes they feasted on in the pre-conference schedule.

This game really is one of the better matchups of the first round. Unless a 16 beats a 1, this could be one of the better games of the tournament.

(wouldn't you love to see all the 16's beat all the 1's)

[Pakuni]

The SEC still had the number 1 team in the country and another one ranked in the top 15.

But you're right, the SEC wasn't as strong this season as it has been in previous seasons. A lot of teams have been surging of late though. The SEC got 6 teams into the NCAA tourney, granted one of them only got there by winning the SEC tourney, but even then Georgia has had a resurgence of late. Arky is playing well and so is Mississippi State.

Tennessee is a super team this year and Vandy is very good, but after that this year's SEC has a bunch of solid, but well short of great teams. That's evidenced by the fact that four of the six SEC teams that got in the tourney are seeded eight or lower and only two SEC teams are in the AP top 25.
Not looking to start an argument or anything like that, just pointing out that this wasn't the league's best year.

[mug644]

I actually like the UK match up as well as the potential Stanford match up for the opportunity they provide. As much as I would just like to win, I think this year frankly provides an opportunity to demonstrate just how good we are. I think most of us believe we're pretty good, and if we're right, we should beat UK. It's that simple. If we come out and play our game for 40 minutes, we should win. If we don't, I won't be disappointed that we lost, or are out of the tournament, I'll be disappointed because we simply weren't that good.

I would say the same goes for Stanford if we get to that point. They would seemingly be a tougher opponent, and the chance of victory would not be as good, but there is no reason we should not be able to play with them.

All year long we have beaten the teams we should beat, and I think our draw provides a great opportunity to demonstrate just how good we are(n't).

I'm late getting in on this thread, but this message is spot on. One of the best I've read all year. We have a team that can do alot, accomplish what we all hoped at the beginning of the year. It's been a good, but not overly impressive season, and our first and possibly second round matchups put us on the spot. No ifs ands or buts, we need to step up and play the game this team can play. If we don't dominate by playing solid defense that lead to quick offense, hit some shots and use the depth of our bench, we can easily lose. If we do those things, we should, should, make the Sweet 16, which is exactly where I think most of thought we would get this year.

As a Red Sox fan, I say it is time to Cowboy Up.

Do it, Warriors.

[UK CAT]

Tennessee is a super team this year and Vandy is very good, but after that this year's SEC has a bunch of solid, but well short of great teams. That's evidenced by the fact that four of the six SEC teams that got in the tourney are seeded eight or lower and only two SEC teams are in the AP top 25.
Not looking to start an argument or anything like that, just pointing out that this wasn't the league's best year.

Well, what can I say? When you're right, you're right. This season wasn't one of the brightest for the SEC. The defending National Champions are playing in the NIT this season. The traditional super-power Kentucky has a double digit seed. And outside of Tennessee that talent level drops considerably. The teams in the Tourney are still solid teams, however, I wouldn't expect to see any of them in the final four. It's possible, we all know that this tourney has a lot of twists intrinsic to it and if this years tourney has the number of upsets that last years tourney did then anything could happen.